February 2020 Mustard Seed - Council Notes

January 15, 2020
Call to Order:  Council was called to order by President Debbie Hollenbach.  Devotions were led by Debbie Hollenbach from a reading called “The Quiet Life”.
 
Present:  Lauren Allegrezza, Gary Apgar, Dale Foster, Pastor G, Deb Hollenbach, Sharon Hood, Linda Kratz, Missy Prunkel, and Jack Walls (and Denise Bailey)            
 
Approvals & Decisions

• Secretary’s Report was approved as written.
• Treasurer’s Report:  The December (and year end) was reviewed.  The endowment funds need to be moved from Operating Income.  Denise said that the report will have multiple format changes for 2020.
• We reviewed the building use set-up form created by Adam Feldman. Edits were noted by Pastor G and will be forwarded to Adam for changes.  This will be added to the “forms” section of our mail slot (when it is created).  Janet Hill to forward to all those who use the building.
• Church Cancellation Process:
  • Council President and Pastor will make decision.
  • Debbie will text/call council members, Janet, and Lauren.
    • Council members will then call those on their lists), based on 2019 directory assignments and list provided to council of who wants phone calls.
    • Janet will send out the email to the distribution list.
    • Lauren will post on the Facebook page and website.
  • Linda will work with Janet on putting the distribution list in Excel so that others can send out cancellation if necessary.

• New Signage for the Church– Dale will work with the Property Team to get quotes, which he will bring to council in February.  Must have the sign on order and claim submitted to Selective by March 6 to get balance of insurance claim ($1267.60).
• Proposed 2020 Budget – Council reviewed the budget and asked for clarifications as needed.
  • Accepted was the proposed addition of $24,170 budget surplus from 2019 in the receipts for 2020.  
  • The council approved the overall 2020 budget and it will be presented to the congregation at the Annual Meeting.  
  • Pastor G will work with Janet for the minor layout tweaks and edits before copying for Sunday’s meeting, including adding the investment page.
• Worship and Music team as requested approval to cancel the 8 AM service between February 2 and April 5 due to low attendance.  The motion was approved.
• Security and Armed Intruder Information – Debbie to ask Vince Hill to request a meeting with Montgomery Township officials (Police Chief J. Scott Bendig and Officer Rob Johnson) to meet with council and Property chair (as a starting point) to review procedures and make recommendation.  This can happen in March, but not at the same time as the council meeting. Then a committee can be formed to propose a policy.
• A new small group (an arm of the Deaconship) is being formed by Sharon Hood with the approval of council.  This group will keep in touch with members of our congregation that we may not see often. The deacons and Sharon should meet to define roles, tasks, and procedures.

 
Annual Meeting:

• Breakfast set up on Saturday at 9 AM by Sharon. Linda, and Gary. Breakfast will be served buffet style with coffee and juice on the tables.  Please arrive around 8:30 so that we can have food all set up when the congregation arrives so that we can begin the meeting promptly at 9 AM.
• Nominations for Council.  Mary Lou Foster will present the slate for election and open the floor to nominations.  There will be 3 people elected to 3-year terms (slate consists of Jack Walls,   Rich Hollenbach, and Adam Feldman) and 1 person to a 1-year term (Anne Hutnyk).  If there are additional nominations from the floor, tellers (Janet and nominating team) will pass out the ballots and count them. 
• We will need to elect a new Nominating team at the Annual Meeting. Debbie will lead the team (C13.02) and ask for two other volunteers during the meeting.
• Proposal to change the date of the annual meeting. Meeting falls on a Holiday Weekend and there are often several members of the congregation who are not at the meeting.  Propose changing the meeting to the following weekend (4thSunday of January) to avoid this conflict in the future. (bylaws C16.05/ quorum of 25 – C16.06). Pastor G to look into requirements for modifying a bylaw.
• Election of New Executive Committee will take place immediately following the 10:30 worship service on Sunday.  Pastor G asked council members to prayerfully consider officer participation.  A review of rules in constitution- C11.01 /c12.02
• Announce cancellation of 8 AM service between February 2 and April 5.

 
Follow-Ups & FYIs:

• Job Descriptions for Staff Members – Completed but still awaiting a few signoffs.  Lauren to work with Pastor G on the Pastoral description.
• Call Committee Update – meeting this week to review roles, process, etc.
• Update on Constitution – To be put on hold until new Synod guru is named.
• Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous is meeting in the Fellowship Hall on Sundays at 6:30PM.
• We will need to have an external audit of our records for 2019.  Our MSP information will be noted as contingent upon an External Audit. We will need to budget approx. $2,000 for the audit from our Undesignated Funds.  Pastor G to provide CPA contacts recommended by Synod.
• Insurance Quote from Church Mutual. Gary, Janet and Adam met with a representative of Church Mutual and walked the property and asked questions.  A quote (lower than current policy with Selective), was received, but it is hard to compare the two.  Recommend scheduling another meeting with the representative, Pastor G, and other members of the finance team to look at the proposal in detail.

• Proposed Acceptable Computer Use Policy -Distributed in November to read.  Still pending additions pertaining to PCI Compliant language.  Will be ready for February meeting.   

 
Ministry Team Report FYIs:
 
Christian Education:  Met briefly in December with the current teachers to review the curriculum and the year so far.  Would like to go back to Old Testament after current curriculum is done.
 
Evangelism:  Met in December 2019 to disperse the funds received from the Korean Church ($3,600). Decided to continue to support our 2 children (Vladimir and Bunga) from Compassion International at $78/month (and to be paid monthly).  Will provide $1,000 to the Penn State Chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) and $1,000 for LAMP – a group that provides spiritual witness and faith nurturing communities in remote areas of northern Canada.  Retained $1,600 to be used for local community outreach.
 
Finance:  See information in Approvals and Decisions section. 
 
Fundraising:  

• Cookie Can Sale - $259
• Remember to buy your GIANT gift cards!  

 
Social Ministry:  January/February Projects are two collections for Keystone Opportunity Century:  First - the collection of boxes of Valentine Cards for children to distribute to classmates and, second, the collection of hats, gloves, mittens and scarfs. In February, we will provide cards for members to sign and send to our Homebound Congregational Members.
 
Worship & Music: Met on January 14.  

• During Lent, we will hold education/training sessions on the different roles within worship during the 9 AM Sunday School hour. This includes Worship/Communion Assistant, Acolyte, Crucifer, Altar Guild, Usher Team, Greeters, etc.  
• Also, during Lent, we will resume the Wednesday night Dinner Church with the theme of “Symbols of Lent”.

Hospitality and Fellowship: Coffee Hour schedule was set for 2020 and dispersed.  The 2ndSunday of most months has been designated a Congregational Coffee Hour. This means that anyone who wants to bring in food can do so to share.  Some months will have a specific theme or a sign-up sheet.  Schedule has been placed in everyone’s mailbox.
 
Fellowship Team:  Met on January 12.  Nancy Gansner resigned as head of the team and Debbie Hollenbach will now lead the team. A list of monthly fellowship opportunities has been determined.  Events were targeted to include activities for members of all ages.  A full schedule will be distributed at the February meeting.  The February event will be a Fastnacht coffee/tea/cocoa and donut evening with entertainment on Tuesday, February 25, 7-8:30 PM.
 
Miscellaneous:

• Lauren Allegrezza provided council with her resignation letter from council and other team leads effective January 31.  She is retaining her role as Communication chair.
• Liana Schantz has asked Missy about using the building for a scout project.  Pastor G will talk with Liana.

 
Next Meeting:  Wednesday, February 5, 2020, at 7:00 PM. Pastor G will have devotions and refreshments.